Snowy, icy winters make for especially treacherous driving, so you usually see lists like this published when the first storms of the year hit. That’s not quite fair, though. Emergencies come up in any climate and at any time of year. You may not need all of them year-round, but here are a dozen things that can help you out in an emergency on the road. [More]
consumer reports
Consumer Reports Pulls Recommendation For Honda Fit After Poor Crash Test Results
By 1.22.14
Earlier today, we told you how all but one of the subcompact cars (aka mini cars) tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety received failing marks in the important small overlap crash test, and the Honda Fit earned the lowest scores of the entire group. As a result, our co-workers at Consumer Reports have decided they can no longer recommend this particular vehicle. [More]
Digging Out From A Snowstorm: Know Your Shovels
By 1.3.14
Need a new shovel, or an additional one? You can save a lot of time, effort, and pain by choosing the one that’s right for you. Our colleagues over at Consumer Reports did the heavy lifting, evaluating different types of shovels and what kinds of people and snow they’re most appropriate for. [More]
More Shoppers Concerned About Getting Fat During The Holidays Than They Are About Going Into Debt
By 12.20.13
For many Americans, the last two months of every calendar year inevitably involve eating too much and spending a lot of money. Given the still-choppy economic waters, you might think that consumers would be more concerned about their bottom lines before thinking about their waistlines, but you’d be wrong. [More]
Consumer Reports Finds Potentially Harmful Bacteria All Over Chicken Breasts
By 12.19.13
While hundreds of people around the country were getting sick from the recent salmonella outbreak, our co-workers at Consumer Reports just happened to be looking into the tiny life forms clinging to that popular poultry offering, the chicken breast. The results — that potentially harmful bacteria are lurking on and in almost every single chicken breast for sale at the supermarket — may not shock you, but they do highlight the growing concern over everything from what chickens are fed to how their meat is handled and prepared. [More]
Chicken Noodle Soup Taste Test Results: Just Make Your Own At Home
By 12.4.13
Our warm and comforting colleagues over at Consumer Reports taste-tested different brands of chicken noodle soup, and came to a conclusion straight out of this site’s comments section: consumers are better off taking fifteen minutes to make their own soup at home. [Consumer Reports] [More]
Consumer Reports Hiring Secret Shoppers In 4 States
December 3, 2013
UPDATE: The application period for this position is now closed. [More]
Hurry And Pick Up A Top Snowblower Before The Snow Comes
By 11.26.13
If you live in a part of the country that gets snow, you might be thinking about buying a snowblower…um, sometime in the next few hours if you live in the Northeast. Fortunately, our bundled-up colleagues over at Consumer Reports has already done the heavy plowing for you and picked out the best machines on the market. [More]
Is No No The Perfect Hair Removal Device? Nope
By 11.1.13
If, like me, you watch too much late-night TV, you’ve probably given some idle thought to ordering the No No, a handheld hair-zapping device sold in direct-response ads. This product promises to painlessly remove and lighten your body hair. The ads leave out two key facts: the No No costs almost $300 and doesn’t work all that well. [More]
Consumer Reports Pulls Recommendations For 3 Toyotas & An Audi Over Crash-Test Results
By 10.28.13
Our cohorts at Consumer Reports do an awful lot of testing on the cars they rate, but one thing they can’t do is crash-testing. That’s why, following the results of recent crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (better known as the people that crash cars into walls), CR has pulled its recommendations on three Toyota models and one Audi vehicle. [More]
Get Your Resume Ready, Consumer Reports Is Hiring A Social Media Manager
September 20, 2013
If you’ve got experience as a social media professional, this might be your lucky day, as our pals at Consumer Reports are currently hiring for a Social Media Manager. [More]
Honda Odyssey’s Built-In Vacuum Works Surprisingly Well, Costs A Lot
By 9.10.13
Maybe you’ve seen the commercials for the new Honda Odyssey minivan that tout its new on-board vacuum cleaner. Sure, you could haul out a Shop-Vac periodically to clean out your car, but what what if you could suck up those Cheerios right after your toddler drops them, no matter where you are? The new Odyssey offers a canister vacuum wired right into the vehicle so you can do just that. [More]
FDA Tests Confirm Presence Of Arsenic In Rice Products
By 9.6.13 — Updated: 4.1.16
Almost exactly one year after our cohorts at Consumer Reports found arsenic in a wide range of rice products — from instant rice to baby food to rice milk to cereal — the Food and Drug Administration has released the results of its own research on the topic, effectively confirming CR’s findings and suggestion that consumers vary the types of grains they eat. [More]
Should You Take Glucosamine And Chondroitin? Meh
By 8.30.13
Americans are buying a lot of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, which are intended to help ease the pain of or prevent symptoms from arthritis. The problem is that there’s no proof that the pills do any good…and tests from our lab-coated cousins down the hall at Consumer Reports showed that many brands don’t even contain the whole dose claimed on the label. [More]
Can Store-Brand Ketchup & Mayonnaise Ever Taste As Good As Your Brand-Name Faves?
By 8.27.13
When I was a child, many of the items in my kitchen cupboard were in plain white containers with red and black block lettering, so I learned early not to be a brand snob — with a couple of exceptions. I am one of those people that turn into a sour-faced 4-year-old whenever I find my only ketchup and mayonnaise options are generic store-brand versions. But my cohorts at Consumer Reports claim that there are comparable, less expensive generics available for these and other pantry staples. [More]
Consumer Reports Learns All About Target’s Fuzzy Unit Pricing Math
By 8.21.13
I don’t know how we could have been so naive, but we thought that we could trust the unit prices on shelf tags in stores, including Target. If this site has taught us anything, it’s that labels can be inaccurate, and that Target may not even be part of our present reality at all. [More]
Consumer Reports Seems To Enjoy Google Chromecast
July 31, 2013
While we at Consumerist are saving our $35 for frivolous things like bread and milk, our pals at Consumer Reports went and got themselves one of those fancy new Google Chromecast streaming video dongle thingamabobs. CR’s initial thoughts — it’s a “compelling, innovative option for those who’d like to add online content to their TV.” [ConsumerReports.com] [More]
The Most Expensive HDTV Antennas Aren’t Necessarily The Best
By 7.30.13
This morning’s news about Time Warner briefly blacking out CBS networks made clear that there are a lot of reasons why you might consider ditching your cable subscription. Newer televisions receive digital signals, but what about antennas? Are we still stuck with huge, hideous rabbit ears or metal rods on our roofs and balconies? Nope. [More]
